Just a Few of the MANY health benefits of Swimming

If I were to have to choose the most comprehensive and healthy sport, it would be swimming (hands down).While swimming is challenging, the many benefits are outstanding and unequaled.

MUSCLE GROUP INVOLVEMENT Swimming involves the use of almost all the muscles required for movement, but without the progressive wear and tear on the body experienced by more traditional exercises involving running and jumping.

MUSCLE TONE & STRENGTH
Regular swimming will increase muscle tone and strength because water resistance is greater than air and the muscles have to work continuously to keep the body moving.

CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS Swimming is great for endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. These benefits are achieved without overworking the heart.

LUNG CAPACITY Swimming improves the body’s use of oxygen and increases lung function which is why swimming can often decrease symptoms in some asthmatic people.

WEIGHT CONTROL Swimming improves the ability to control and maintain a healthy weight.

STRESS REDUCTION Like other sports, swimming decreases stress by releasing endorphins and other relaxing chemicals.

LONGEVITY Swimming is a sport for all ages and fitness levels and a person can start swimming at any age. For many people it is the only form of exercise they can participate in.

CONFIDENCE As with other sports, swimming will improve self esteem and increase mental toughness.

Breaststroke Kicking Drills for Competitive Swimmers

A weak or incorrect breaststroke kick can throw the whole stroke off and ruin even the most perfect pull...The following kicking drills will keep your legs doing their part.

Kick Using a Pull Buoy or Band: Place a pull buoy between knees and perform the Breaststroke kick (you can also use a band around knees. This drill works on “Hiding the kick” – GoSwim Breaststroke with Brendan Hansen has a great section showing how Brendan hides his kick. (See my review of the instructional DVD here.)

Kick with Hands at Side: Perform breaststroke as normal (normal breathing rhythm and leg movement) except keep hands straight and still at the sides with thumbs touching outer thigh. Each time legs recover, try to touch heels to hands. As heels come up, breathe. Purpose: enhances hip action and proper leg position – Like the kicking on back drill below, this one reinforces keeping hips in line with knees.

Breaststroke Kick on Back: lie on your back and kick Breaststroke with hands either above head in streamlined position or at side, keep knees below surface. This drill works on keeping knees close together and keeping the hips in line with the knees (Kicking with Hands at Side also works on hip/knee alignment).

GoSwim Breaststroke with Brendan Hansen by GoSwim

Ab Exercises that will Strengthen your Core and Improve your Swimming

Swimming is such an all-encompassing sport in regard to muscle usage. Good form relies heavily on a stable core which is why ab work is a necessity for swimmers who wish to swim at a competitive level.

Here are 4 of my favorite abdominal exercises which are a great way to add some strength to your core and allow your body to move more steadily though the water, improving form which will increase speed. That is, if you are consistent with working your abs!

• Jackknife Reverse Crunch with Swiss Exercise Ball (This exercise will also strengthen the hip flexors)
  Place yourself in a push up position with your feet on the ball. Draw your legs in slowly in a controlled movement, making sure you concentrate on keeping your spine (no arching), head and neck aligned. Slowly return to the start position again focusing on spine alignment and control.
• Swiss Ball Leg Raises
  With Swiss Ball between ankles and arms outstretched to the sides, raise ball with legs to a 90 degree angle keeping legs straight. Lower the legs in a slow and controlled motion focusing on the abs. If this is too difficult, start out with no ball and legs slightly bent. Keep your spine flat against the floor and don’t allow your feet to touch the mat at the bottom of the movement.
• Russian Oblique Twist (with or without medicine ball or dumbbell)
  With ball in hands and arms outstretched slightly and angled slightly less than 90 degrees toward feet, do a partial sit-up. While holding yourself up with your abs, arms still outstretched, take the arms (holding medicine ball) and twist the arms and waist until the ball almost touches the floor. Arms should stay straight the whole time and entire movement should be controlled. Back should stay aligned (no slouching or arching). If this is too tough, do the exercise without the ball.
• Pendulum or Double Leg Circles
  If this is the first time you have attempted this exercise, start with your legs together and straight at a 90 degree angle with the floor. Slowly, and with control, drop legs down and around and back to the original upright position. Alternate between clockwise and counter clockwise. The higher the circle the easier so if you are having trouble, don’t allow your legs to circle as low. You can also bend your legs and make the circles that way. Keep your core stable and contracted. Make sure your legs are the only thing moving. Do not wiggle at the waist.

Cardiovascualr Dryland Training in Swimming - Why do it?

photo credit: eric.surfdude on Flickr

creative commons license

If swimming is such a great sport, why does it need to be supplemented by "dryland" workouts?

It is BECAUSE swimming is a great sport that dryland is important because swimming uses all of the large muscle groups at the same time and continuously (without the stopping and starting common to ther sports).

Increasing cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility and strength through dryland exercises effectively enhances swimming athleticism which translates into greater performance in the pool. It is beneficial for youth swimmers and up.

The swimming body needs strong muscles, flexible joints and the stamina necessary to propel the swimmer through the water with speed. Without dryland, swimming would still allow a person to get a decent workout, but the ability to compete on a competitive level would be limited at most.

Common to dryland workouts is the cardiovascualr portion. Many different methods are used to improve cardio conditioning. Commontypes of this type of conditioning include:

• Running
• Jumping
• Rowing
• Stair Climbing
• Versaclimbing

Although the training preferences vary coach by coach, the versaclimber is appealing to many because it uses the upper and lower body (taking care of several areas at once). The versaclimber is a common piece of gym equipment and is easily confused with the Vasa Trainer which is a swim specific apparatus which is not as readily available. If you have one available to you...use it!

Dryland conditioning typically begins with the cardio portion, then progresses to flexibility and strength exercises. The conditioning cycle then moves into taper and the whole process starts over again the following program year.

For great dryland workouts, check out USMS.org and search "dryland workouts".

Parent Expectations of New Swimmers – How to Support your Child

It’s only natural for parents of new swimmers to want their child to do well at the first meet. It’s very tempting to compare your swimmer to other children and to rate their performance based on other swimmers’ achievements. It’s also natural to feel disappointment when your child performs below their ability.

If your swimmer is aware of this type of thinking it will only cause your child’s confidence to weaken and can make their first competitive experience in swimming to be associated with negative feelings. In addition, it will cause your child to begin thinking that their success is based on how they measure up to others versus doing the best that they can do.

• Keep your child focused on their achievements
• Step back and let the coach talk to your child after the race and point out things done well and things that need to be worked on
• Don’t focus on place or time in comparison to other swimmers
• Remind your child that they are racing themselves and trying to improve on their time
• Reassure your child that other swimmers are nervous and you would be nervous too
• Make sure your child knows that what matters to you is that they do their best and have fun
• Tell them that you are proud of them

For further reading, I recommend:
10 Commandments for Swimming Parents
by Rose Snyder, Managing Director Coaching Division, USOC Former Director of Club Services, USA Swimming

Highly Effective Backstroke Drills for Every Level

Backstroke can be one of the more problematic strokes for some swimmers. Specific work with each aspect of the stroke can really go a long way to improve overall efficiency and ultimately increase a backstroker's or IMer's speed.

Here are a few of my favorite backstroke drills. For more specific backstroke help, check out Aaron Peirsol in the excellent instructional DVD, "GoSwim Backstroke".

• Streamline on Back: Lie on back (relax...) with head facing up to the ceiling. Body should be flat in the water with arms outstretched above the head, one hand on top of the other. Arms should be straight, tight and close to the ears. Move while kicking and concentrating on keeping your arms in streamline.

• Kick-n-Roll: The arms will stay elongated by the sides with this drill. Kick while keeping head as still as possible. Keep head facing up to the ceiling (or sky). While in this position, start to kick. Roll and hold for two counts and without staying on the back except for a moment, roll to the other side. Each shoulder should rotate toward the head (the head should stay stable while the rest of the body rolls as a unit)

• One-Arm Backstroke: Swim Backstroke with one arm at your side as in the Kick-n-Roll. Maintain the rolling movement without pausing on the back at any point of the stroke. Make sure the head is still remaining stable in the water (not dropping to either side or moving up and down). Remember thumb up out of the water, pinkie into the water. This drill has many possibilities for variation. One lap right arm backstroke, one lap left arm. 2 right, 2 left and so on.

• Double-Arm Backstroke: Instead of the arms alternating in this drill, the swimmer will move both arms simultaneously. This also works on balance and requires a lot of coordination and concentration on each element of the stroke.

• Pull Buoy Between Ankles: Swim Backstroke with a buoy at feet. Expect snaking through the water as most people are not totally even with their stroke. This drill will narrow down areas of the stroke that are not balanced allowing the swimmer to concentrate on these issues in other drills.

Why you should keep swimming even if you are sure you have gotten disqualified

When you see the judge at the end of the pool (who appears to be looking at you) and he/she raises her hand to signal a disqualification KEEP SWIMMING and DON'T slow down ! Why? What's the point? You've gotten DQ'd anyway. The time won't count.

BUT...what if the judge made a mistake (they are human) and what if they were actually looking at the swimmer next to you (goggles can impair your vision).

You NEVER want to stop swimming when you are sure you have gotten disqualified (even if you think you did something wrong...the judge may not have seen it because he/she was watching another swimmer. It's not your job to judge...it's your job to swim your race and finish your race.

The smartest thing to do is think about your swimming. If you are looking at the wall, your head will be low, you will be able to time your turn and maintain your focus so you can hit the wall with precision, efficiency and power...

On the other hand, if you are looking up at the judge, your head will likely be out of position, your focus will be broken, you could take too many strokes into the wall, make a sloppy turn or lose confidence...not the ingredients of a good swim.

Teeth Discoloration in Competitive Swimmers is Unsightly but Not Permanent

It's not pleasant to think of your child having teeth that are discolored, mimicking stains caused by coffee, tea and in some cases, even smoking. A condition know as "Swimmer's teeth" has been seen in frequent swimmers as young elementary school age. Although not pleasant to look at, the discoloration of the teeth can revert to the pearly white color they used to be.

Don't worry if your child brushes at least 3 times a day and the yellowish color remains. The dentist will have to do the cleaning, but it will come off.

More information about Swimmer's Teeth

How to find a year round swim team for kids

The Olympics have ended and many children who may have had little to no exposure to the competitive sport of swimming have been bombarded by images, news reports, interviews, commercials and images of Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and other high profile swimmers.

The sport of swimming has long competed with more well-known sports such as basketball, soccer and football. Hopefully this surge in exposure has inspired a new group of Olympic dreamers to put on a swimsuit, cap and goggles and dive in.

If your child is one of these dreamers, you may be wondering how to find a year round competitive swim program. There are many clubs throughout the United States and there is likely one in your area.

To find clubs in your area, you just need to visit USA Swimming's website where you can search for a team. The USA Swimming website has all kinds of great information for parents and swimmers, It also has information on volunteer opportunities in the sport of swimming.

You can also go directly to your local swim committee (LSC) which will have information about local clubs. Currently there are 59 of these committees in the US. You can locate the LSC for your area at the USA Swimming site as well.

Search for LSCs in your area.